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13 TV Shows Based on True Stories Coming in 2020

03/01/2020 - 11:25 PM

You don't have to be a true crime lover to get excited for all of the TV shows based on true stories [1] coming your way in 2020. Truth is proving to be stranger than fiction more and more these days, and the people who make our favourite shows are taking notice. Last year brought a variety of blockbuster series grounded in reality, including Ava DuVernay [2]'s powerful Central Park Five [3] miniseries and HBO's intense Chernobyl. Meanwhile, Amazon went a different route entirely with Modern Love, an anthology series based on the true stories of shared connection shared in The New York Times column of the same name.

That same variety can be seen in the growing lineup of shows based on real-life that are coming our way [4] in 2020. Don't worry, true crime aficionados: there are plenty of shocking murder mysteries to unravel, but there are also shows about entrepreneurs, immigrants, and the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. It's a varied bunch of series that are sure to keep us glued to the couch all year long.

Little America

Apple TV+'s new series roll-out continues with Little America [5]. The anthology series is based on the true stories of American immigrants that were originally featured in Epic Magazine. Each episode will focus on a different person or family's experience coming to and living in the United States. The show also happens to have an exceptional creative team behind it including The Big Sick writers, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon.

Premiere date: Jan. 17

For Life

ABC's new drama For Life is inspired by the life of Isaac Wright Jr. [6], a man who was wrongfully convicted as a drug kingpin, and had his own conviction overturned. He went on to become a licenced attorney, and he's now a lawyer known for taking on the cases of the wrongly accused. However, the show won't be a by-the-book retelling of his story, instead it focuses on the character of Aaron who fights to help his fellow inmates while also seeking to have his own life sentence overturned (which Wright Jr. actually did).

Premiere date: Feb. 11

Hunters

Amazon is billing the Jordan Peele-produced Hunters as "inspired by true events," but there definitely seems to be more fantasy than truth in the upcoming Nazi-hunting drama. Even though it's hard to pinpoint what part of this story is true, there's no denying that the show sounds like a pulpy good time. Hunters stars Al Pacino [7], Logan Lerman, Jerrika Hinton, Josh Radnor [8], and Carol Kane as an unlikely group that unites to thwart a Nazi rising in 1977 New York.

Release date: Feb. 21

Selena: The Series

Singer Selena Quintanilla's tragic story is getting the Netflix treatment in Selena: The Series [9] later this year. Per Netflix's official description, the miniseries is "a coming of age story following Selena Quintanilla as her dreams come true and all the heart-wrenching and life-changing choices she and her family have to make as they navigate success, family, and music." Instead of focusing solely on Selena's murder at the age of 23, the show is set to chronicle her rise to fame, including her Grammy win for best Mexican-American album in 1994. The series stars The Walking Dead [10] alum Christian Serratos as Selena.

Premiere date: TBA

American Crime Story: Impeachment

Ryan Murphy and FX's American Crime Story [11] is back and preparing to take on the timely subject of President Bill Clinton's impeachment in season three. Beanie Feldstein is set to play Monica Lewinsky (the real Lewinsky is a producer on the series), while Clive Owen [12] will play Clinton. Murphy's frequent collaborator Sarah Paulson will star as Linda Tripp.

Premiere date: Sept. 27

The Barking Murders

Britbox is bringing the three-part BBC drama The Barking Murders [13] to American viewers later this year. The series is based on the shocking and disturbing crimes of serial rapist and murderer Stephen Port. In 2016, Port, who was dubbed "The Grindr Killer," was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor. While Port (played by Stephen Merchant) will feature in the series, the primary focus will be on the victims' families and their fight for justice.

Premiere date: TBA

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story

Dirty John is moving from Bravo to USA as the anthology series takes on a new twisted true story in season two. This time around, convicted murderer Betty Broderick [14] takes centre stage, as the show chronicles her relationship with her ex-husband Dan from the '60s straight through to the '80s. The cast includes Amanda Peet [15] and Christian Slater as the doomed couple.

Premiere date: TBA

Dr. Death

NBC's new streaming service, Peacock, launches this Spring, and it's coming fully stocked with plenty of interesting shows. Among them is Dr. Death, based on the podcast of the same name. The show will explore the shocking true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas surgeon whose patients went in for routine spinal surgeries only to either die on the table or end up maimed. As his body count rose, neurosurgeon Robert Henderson teamed with vascular surgeon Randall Kirby to prove the doctor's crimes. The show's cast includes Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin [16], and Christian Slater.

Premiere date: TBA

Inventing Anna

Shonda Rhimes's Netflix shows are finally going to start rolling out in 2020, and that includes Inventing Anna [17]. Based on the New York magazine article "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People" [18] by Jessica Pressler, the show will tell the wild but true story of a woman known as Anna Delvey, who convinced New York's elite that she was one of them. Delvey claimed to be a German heiress, but in reality she was the not-at-all royal Anna Sorokin. During her time in New York she conned her way into parties full of famous faces, dodged paying lavish hotel bills, and turned her natural charm into cash by hanging with the right crowd.

The series stars Ozark's Julia Garner as Delvey/Sorokin, while Anna Chlumsky plays the journalist trying to expose the fake heiress's lies.

Release date: TBA

Madam C.J. Walker

Octavia Spencer is set to star in Netflix's Madam C.J. Walker [19], a miniseries about Sarah Breedlove, the first African American self-made millionaire. Breedlove defied all the odds in turn-of-the-century America to become a pioneer in the field of black haircare. In addition to Spencer, the star-studded cast will also include Tiffany Haddish, Blair Underwood, and Garrett Morris.

Premiere date: TBA

Mrs. America

Originally set at FX, Mrs. America will now premiere on Hulu as part of the partnership between the cable channel and the streamer. Set in the '70s, the series chronicles to fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and the backlash that was led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly. Additionally, the show will include depictions of real-life second wave feminists including Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, and Jill Ruckelshaus. And just in case that doesn't sound engrossing enough on its own, the cast includes Cate Blanchett [20], Rose Byrne, Sarah Paulson, Margo Martindale, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, and Tracey Ullman.

Premiere date: TBA

Quiz

AMC's three-part drama Quiz [21] tells the story of a con gone wrong. On September 9, 2001, Major Ingram appeared on the British version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and cheated his way to a win with help from his wife Diana and their accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, who were sitting in the audience. The trio concocted a scheme where a cough would signify the right answer that later got them caught. The series stars Matthew Macfadyen as Major Charles Ingram, Michael Sheen as TV presenter Chris Tarrant, and Fleabag's Sian Clifford as Diana Ingram.

Premiere date: TBA

White House Farm

The upcoming new streaming service HBO Max is coming in strong this Spring with a variety of originals and imports. White House Farm [22], which will first air on ITV in the U.K., is one of the service's most exciting projects for true crime fans. Set in 1985, the six-part series recounts the murders of five members of the same family in a farmhouse in Essex. Sheila Caffell was originally suspected of killing her family, but the police later turned their attention to her brother, who was ultimately convicted for the murders. The show's cast includes Game of Thrones [23] star Alfie Allen.

Premiere date: TBA


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